Top Gun Movie Review

Top Gun (1986)

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Written by: Jim Cash & Jack Epps Jr.  (written by), Ehud Yonay (magazine article "Top Guns")
Directed by:Tony Scott
Starring: Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer, Tim Robbins, Kelly McGillis, Anthony Edwards. Tom Skerritt, Michael Ironside
Rated: PG
Watch the trailer

Plot
A reckless fighter pilot trains in an elite Navy program.

Verdict
This is a pure eighties film, but it's a lot of fun and put fighter pilots at the forefront of cool once again. It can be a bit cheesy, and Cruise plays his standard cocky character who must overcome tragedy, but you still root for Cruise. The jet sequences and stock video of jets is great.
Watch It.

Review
The real top gun school fines anyone who quotes this movie. This movie is the reason for record Naval applications in 1986, with the Navy setting up recruiting booths in cinemas.

While I couldn't imagine anyone but Tom Cruise as Maverick,  Matthew Modine, Patrick Swayze, Emilio Estevez, Nicolas Cage, John Cusack, Matthew Broderick, Sean Penn, Michael J. Fox, Scott Baio, and Tom Hanks all turned the role of Maverick down.
Charlie Sheen, Jim Carrey, Rob Lowe, Kevin Bacon, Eric Stoltz, John Travolta, and Robert Downey Jr. were considered for the role of Maverick.
Despite all of the possibilities Tom Cruise was the first choice. He just kept turning the role down. He finally agreed after producer Jerry Bruckheimer arranged a fly along with the Blue Angels.

Cruise's wheelhouse character in the '80s was the cocky newcomer who had to overcome his demons to succeed. Cruise's success extends from Top Gun to The Color of Money (1986), Cocktail (1988), and Days of Thunder (1990).

The world didn't have enough fighter pilot movies, so 1986 provided the maligned Iron Eagles and the cultural touchstone Top Gun. In 2015, the United States Library of Congress selected the film for preservation in the National Film Registry, finding it "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

Top Gun - A slice of pure '80s cheese.

As the production company logo is still on screen we get the first introduction to the sound track. It's great, provided you like '80s sound tracks. The first images are clips of jets sitting on an aircraft carrier and the crew performing routine duties, before we cut to Maverick (Tom Cruise) in the cockpit with co-pilot Goose (Anthony Edwards). In the Navy, you're only known by your call sign.
Maverick squares off against Russian MiG-28 jets. He flies parallel and inverted to give the Russian the finger, it's the height of the Cold War after all. He then defies orders to land by helping a fellow pilot. It's a Tom Cruise film through and through.

Cruise and Edwards have great chemistry, and it's fun to watch Val Kilmer chew the scenery as Iceman. Kilmer didn't want to do the film, but he was contractually obligated.

A little known fact of flight school, is that pilots have to practice singing an ensemble version of The Righteous Brothers hit, You've Lost that Lovin' Feelin'. Maverick calls upon his brothers in a time of need at the bar when he has to woo the hot blonde, Charlie (Kelly McGillis). This starts his movie trope of trying to woo women that are his superior or otherwise should be off limits. Charlie is an instructor at the flight school.

Cruise wore lift shoes for his scenes with McGillis as she is three inches taller. Tom Cruise also plays beach volleyball in blue jeans. Why? He's Tom Cruise, that's why.

Tom Cruise manages to be arrogant, but charismatic. He defies orders, but for selfless reasons... sometimes. He suffers a setback, and then we root for him to win. He's on the verge of quitting, but has to perform his duty. He may not win or get the gold medal, but he proves he's the best. It's the log line for a slew of Cruise's movies, and he makes it work every time.

The movie does a neat trick of having the good guys' distinct helmets visible and their visors up so we can see their eyes. The Russian pilots have their dark visors down on non-descript helmets. It makes them robotic and avoids humanizing before they get killed.

The final battle is intense, though there is a lot of expository dialog. Maverick learned from his training to become the best. This is one of the best examples of 80s indulgence. "You can be my wing man any time."